As Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Ayodhya on Saturday to inaugurate a slew of projects in the holy city, sand artist Rupesh Singh created sand figures depicting the events. Singh, who arrived from Banaras to Ayodhya, sculpted figures of PM Modi seeking Hindu deity Lord Ram’s blessings as he inaugurated the Ayodhya Dham Railway Station and Maharishi Valmiki International Airport.
He also created the figures of Lord Hanuman with the caption ‘Ayodhya Mai Abhinandan’.
PM Modi visited Ayodhya on Saturday morning to inaugurate projects worth ₹11,100 crore, including the Ayodhya Airport and the Ayodhya Dham Junction Railway Station. This comes ahead of the consecration ceremony at the Ram temple on January 22.
Upon arrival, he was welcomed by over 1,400 artists from across the country who presented folk art and cultural programs on 40 stages set up along the route from the airport to the railway station.
Modi also flagged off a new category of two superfast passenger trains, the Amrit Bharat Express – Darbhanga-Ayodhya-Anand Vihar Terminal Amrit Bharat Express and Malda Town-Sir M. Visvesvaraya Terminus (Bengaluru) Amrit Bharat Express. He also flagged off six new Vande Bharat trains – Mata Vaishno Devi Katra-New Delhi Vande Bharat Express; Amritsar-Delhi Vande Bharat Express; Coimbatore-Bangalore Cantt Vande Bharat Express; Mangalore-Madgaon Vande Bharat Express; Jalna-Mumbai Vande Bharat Express and Ayodhya-Anand Vihar Terminal Vande Bharat Express.
Apart from these, PM Modi dedicated three railway projects worth ₹2,300 crore to the nation and inaugurated several developmental projects.
PM Modi’s appeal to devotees
After the inauguration ceremonies, PM Modi addressed a public gathering in Ayodhya. Speaking at the gathering, Modi urged citizens to not visit the Ram temple on January 22 – the consecration day, and rather light a diya at home.
“This is my request with folded hand, don’t decide to come to Ram Temple on January 22. First, allow the event to happen, and then after January 23, you can come any time. Everyone wants to attend the event, but it is not possible to accommodate everyone owing to logistics and security reasons. You have waited for over 550 years. Wait for some more time…Instead light a diya at home on January 22. That day should be Diwali across India,” he said.
